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Man accused of numerous sex assaults on child

A man who in 2007 threatened to kill his Halliburton co-workers and “shoot it out” with police was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of a number of sexual assault charges, after allegedly trying to kill himself at his Grand Junction apartment.

Jeremy Thomas Hale, 32, was taken into custody without incident at his home at 1333 N. 13th St., No. 6, after police learned that Hale had called an acquaintance and told that person he had slit his wrists and had a shotgun.

According to an affidavit in the case, Hale had been the subject of an investigation since Dec. 29 into the sexual assault of a child. That day investigators first learned of accusations that Hale had committed sexual assault more than 15 times.

Sometime between Dec. 29 and Thursday, police investigators set up a one-party consent phone call with Hale and someone associated with the case. During that call, when confronted with the allegations, Hale made a number of presumably incriminating statements including, “I don’t know why I did it,” “I can’t explain my actions,” and “Not I (sic) day goes by when I’m not asking for forgiveness,” according to the affidavit.

Hale was charged Thursday with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, sexual assault as part of a pattern of abuse, and an associated charge.

In April 2007, Hale was subdued with a Taser and arrested by Mesa County sheriff’s deputies after he threatened co-workers at Halliburton with a loaded handgun, and said he planned on “shooting it out with the cops” and killing himself. Hale was visibly intoxicated then — as he was Thursday morning — and police recovered various weapons and ammunition inside Hale’s vehicle during the 2007 incident, including a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic Hi-Point rifle and an unloaded .22-caliber Ruger revolver, in addition to the loaded handgun with which he was threatening his co-workers.